Back in 2002, a customer paid for a meal at the pizza parlor with a bad check because he was having a “very difficult time financially.” 13 years later, the customer finally fessed up in an anonymous letter mailed to the shop owner last month.

The owner posted the photo of the letter on Reddit, with the title, “Received this today, I’m speechless.”

Not only did the customer apologize for his lack of integrity that day 13 years ago, he also enclosed a money order for $54.39, which included 8% interest compounded since 2002 on the food bill that he assumed was $20.

Letter written to pizza parlor owner (Image source: Reddit)

“I feel bad for the poor guy,” the pizza parlor owner commented. “I probably forgot about him when I wrote the check off as a loss and never gave him another thought. This poor dude has been dwelling on this for over a decade. If I find out who he is I’m going to have a beer with him, I’m buying.”

The pizza parlor owner added that “the guy didn’t have to do anything, this is a big showing of his character. To include interest was really generous.”

The pizza parlor stopped accepting checks in 2006, after several years of experiences with bad checks.

The owner said on Reddit that he plans to put up a sign acknowledging the letter and saying something like “All is forgiven” for the patron. He also says he will update people on the site if he hears back from the letter writer.